The Ruins of New York: Coromir

Coromir is a modern barbarian. Born outside of Pittsburgh, as a teenager his family was slaughtered by the Black River Cult. He barely escaped the culling, and spent the next few years living on his own in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania. He swore an oath to avenge his family’s death, and when he was 19, he succeeded in finding and killing the naga behind the cult.

His desire for revenge was not sated however, and rather than return to civilization, he pledge his life to hunting abominations. His travels have taken him throughout the ruins of the United States. He has been consistently disappointed with the people he’s found there, cowardly, manipulative bastards all too eager to pay someone else to solve their problems, obsessed with returning to the Old Ways. As though technology can save them. As though a gun can help you when you’ve used up the last of your precious bullets.

He’s taken their silver and beer ... but he’s refused to live with them.

There’s one exception to this: the Texas Rangers. These elite soldiers and trackers share his hatred of the abominations, and their skills are unmatched among the civilian populace. Foremost among the Rangers is his longtime friend Jason Freeman, who is perhaps the one man he’d trust his life with. The two of them have tracked Serpent cults in Mississippi, mutated alligator-spawn in the Everglades, and ghouls feeding on the hurricane-slaughtered dead of Houston.

Design Notes

While inspired Coromir is inspired by Conan, in truth, he's too dumb to be Conan. Robert E. Howard's barbarian could be crafty and cunning when he needed to be, and this character's more in line with Conan's movie incarnation. He's a fun character (during the playtest it was unanimously decided that he must be wearing one of the old leather football helmets) but he's also a challenge for the GM because he's a melee fighter. He needs people (or things) to fight up close, and while he can fall back on his trusty bow (or perhaps rip a heavy machine gun loose from its base), he's really about getting in close.